The present invention refers to a mixture or an emulsion of a lipid with a polar lipid emulsifier which after ingestion gives an improved feeling of satiety and also results in reduced calorie and especially fat intake at a subsequent meal.
Overweight and overeating are major health problems in the Western World. These, conditions are a result of an inbalance between energy intake and expenditure. One cause may be lack of appetite control.
It is well known that products with a high fat content, such as for instance cream, bring about a feeling of satiety. It would, however, be desirable to have a food product which provided a more rapid onset of such a feeling of satiety, which produced a feeling of satiety for a longer period of time or which produced the same feeling of satiety at a lower caloric intake. Also desirable would be a product which, when consumed, led to a reduced caloric intake at a later meal. Since fat is the most calorie-dense food, what would be especially desirable would be a product which selectively reduced fat intake.
EP 0 246 294 refers to an enteric preparation for the treatment of obesity. Said enteric preparation is a capsule, a tablet or microcapsules coated with a coating resistant to gastric juice which dissolves in the intestines. The enteric preparation contains specific hydrophobic substances which are said to give a reduced food intake when brought into contact with the distal part of the small intestine.
WO 95/20943 describes the use of DGDG-rich material, a galactolipid material, as an emulsifier in oil-in-water emulsions for pharmaceutical, nutritional and cosmetic use. The galactolipid material utilized in said applications was prepared from cereals by extraction of the lipids with ethanol and a subsequent purification on a chromatographic column to pure DGDG or a DGDG-rich fraction of polar lipids. The emulsion can be used as a carrier in pharmaceutical compositions as well as in nutritional, cosmetical, food and agricultural products.
WO 97/11141 describes a method for producing a fractionated vegetable oil which is characterized by containing 10-90% by weight of polar lipids, preferably 20-75%, and a remainder of non-polar lipids. The fractionated vegetable oil is preferably also characterized by containing more than 5% by weight, preferably more than 20%, glycolipids. Said fractionated vegetable oil also preferably contains more than 3% by weight, preferably more than 15% DGDG and consists of a wide range of polar and amphiphilic lipids in a continuous triglyceride phase. The fractionated vegetable oil can be used as a surface active agent for the formulation of a food, pharmaceutical, skin care or other product for oral, enteral, parenteral, topical or any other form of administration.
The present invention is related to the use of a mixture or an oil-in-water emulsion of a lipid as a food or for the formulation of a food composition giving a rapid, improved and prolonged feeling of satiety, reducing calorie intake at later meals and selectively producing a greater reduction in fat consumption.
The invention refers to a food composition giving a prolonged feeling of satiety, comprising a mixture of triglyceride oils having a solid fat content at ambient to body temperature and a food emulsifier.
The invention also refers to a food composition giving a prolonged feeling of satiety, comprising an oil-in-water emulsion of triglyceride oils having a solid fat content at ambient to body temperature with a food emulsifier in an aqueous solution.
The triglyceride oils of said mixtures or emulsions can be any triglyceride material having a solid fat content at ambient to body temperature. The triglyceride oils are defined by the percentage of solid fat content, determined by NMR serial measurements as described in IUPAC method no. 2.150, 7th edition. Triglyceride refers to triacylglycerol, that is glycerol esterified to three fatty acids.
The triglyceride oils are preferably selected from the group consisting of palm oil, cocoa butter or other confectionery fats. Further examples of triglyceride oils are illipe butter, shea butter, kokum butter, sal butter or other natural oils or fractions thereof with a similar solid fat content or melting range. Other examples of such oils are hydrogenated or partly hydrogenated soybean oil, rapeseed oil, cotton oil and sunflower oil or fractions thereof. The triglyceride oils may also be synthetic or semi-synthetic. Body temperature is the temperature of the healthy human or animal body.
The triglyceride oils should contain at least 90% by weight of triglycerides, preferably more than 95% by weight.
The invention especially refers to a food composition wherein the triglyceride oils are a fraction of palm oil. This fraction of palm oil is obtained from commercial palm oil, which is fractionated to specific mixtures of suitable triglycerides, based on the combination of mainly palmitic, oleic, linoleic and stearic esters of glycerol, respectively. Preferably the content of triglycerides in the palm oil fraction should be not less than 99% by weight. The purity can be checked by conventional chromatographic methods, such as thin-layer chromatography or high-performance liquid chromatography.
It seems to be of importance that the triglyceride oils utilised in the emulsion are very pure and free from minor components.
Food emulsifiers, that is emulsifiers commonly used in food applications are generally esters composed of a hydrophilic and a lipophilic part. In general, the lipophilic part is composed of stearic, palmitic, oleic, or linoleic acid or a combination of said fatty acids. The hydrophilic part is generally composed of hydroxyl, carboxyl, or oxyethylene groups. Examples of families of food-grade emulsifiers are lecithins, mono- and diglycerides, propylene glycol monoesters, lactylated esters, polyglycerol esters, sorbitan esters, ethoxylated esters, succinylated esters, fruit acid esters, acetylated mono- and diglycerides, phosphated mono- and diglycerides and sucrose esters. The emulsion of the triglyceride oils can also be obtained when the oils are mixed with suitable foods or food products, making use of the inherent emulsification properties of said foods or food products. Food emulsifiers according to the invention should be able to emulsify more than 20% by weight of the triglyceride oils, preferably more than 40% by weight, giving an emulsion which is still liquid in order to facilitate the processing of a food product in which the emulsion is incorporated.
A preferred emulsifier of the invention is lecithin, for instance produced from egg yolk, milk, soybean oil, sunflower oil, and rapeseed oil, which consists of a mixture of mainly phospholipids, such as phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. Lecithin refers in this context to crude mixtures of said phospholipids which are obtained on degumming of the starting materials, and which are commercially available as food emulsifiers.
Another preferred emulsifier is a galactolipid based emulsifier. Galactolipids belong to the group of glycolipids, well known constituents of plant cell membranes. The most important classes of these contain one to four sugars linked glycosidically to diacyiglycerol. The two most abundant classes contain one and two galactose units, respectively, and the commonly used nomenclature and abbreviations of these are mono- and digalactosyldiglyceride, MGDG and DGDG, sometimes referred to as galactolipids. Galactolipids, primarily DGDG and DGDG-rich materials, have been investigated and found to be a surface active material of interest in industrial applications such as food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. Galactolipid emulsifiers are described in WO 95/20943 and WO 97/11141.
The invention also refers to a food product wherein the triglyceride oils are combined with other lipids containing essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are polyunsaturated acids of the (n-6) and (n-3) families which are essential for life and good health. The other lipids containing essential fatty acids can be derived from vegetable oils of all types, such as oils from the seeds and beans of soybean, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, rapeseed (canola), palm, palmkernel, coconut, corn, evening primrose, borage, groundnut, sesame, and similar, furthermore animal oils and fats such as fish oils, liver oils, egg oils, and similar, obvious to a person skilled in the art, which in combination with the triglycerides can be emulsified by the emulsifiers of the invention.
A preferred aspect of the invention is a food composition wherein the triglyceride oils of the invention are combined with palmkernel oil or coconut oil, giving in addition to a prolonged feeling of satiety also a rapid onset of satiety.
The invention also refers to a food composition wherein the qalactolipid based emulsifier is a fractionated oat oil.
Oil-in-water emulsions refer in this application in addition to liquid oil dispersions also to solid fat dispersions, that is suspensions.
Oil-in-water emulsions are prepared by using the emulsifier either alone or in combination with other amphiphilic compounds, such as co-surfactants. The oil-in-water emulsion may also comprise optional additives known in the art for improving different aspects of the composition, such as flavouring agents, sweeteners, colorants, thickening agents, preservatives, antioxidants, etc.
Oil-in-water emulsions are prepared by conventional methods. For example, a 30wt % emulsion of a triglyceride oil in water is prepared by adding the emulsifier to the liquid triglyceride. The continuous phase may be pure water or an aqueous solution containing water-soluble additives such as isotonic agents, sweeteners, flavours, and preservatives. If necessary, the pH of the aqueous phase is then adjusted. The oil phase as well as the aqueous phase are preheated and then the oil phase is added to the aqueous phase under high-shear mixing. The pre-emulsion is then subjected to high-pressure homogenisation.
The oily mixture consisting of the triglyceride oils plus the emulsifier may be added to solid or semi-solid foods, which then become naturally emulsified to an oil-in-water emulsion on exposure to the fluids of the gastrointestinal tract. The oily mixture may also contain oil-soluble additives such as antioxidants and flavours. The oily mixture may also be made into a ready-prepared emulsion which can be added to liquid or semi-liquid foods and drinks.
The invention especially refers to a food composition wherein the mixture of triglyceride oils and emulsifier or the oil phase of the emulsion comprises 80-99% by weight of the triglycerides and 1-20% by weight of emulsifier.
It should be emphasized that the emulsifying capacity of the emulsifier depends on the composition of the emulsifier. The fractionated oat oil mentioned above can without further purification be used as an emulsifier in an amount of 1-20% by weight of the total composition for preparing oil-in-water emulsions of 5-60% by weight of triglycerides. The galactolipid emulsifier of WO 95/20943 should be used in 0.1-5.0% by weight of the total composition for preparing oil-in-water emulsions of 5-80% by weight of triglycerides.
The invention also refers to the use of a mixture of triglyceride oils having a solid fat content at ambient to body temperature and a food emulsifier or an oil-in-water emulsion thereof as a food or for the preparation of a food composition giving a prolonged feeling of satiety, as well as a reduction in calorie intake and especially a selective reduction in fat intake at subsequent meals. The satiety effect is most noticeable during the period 3-4 h after intake.
The emulsion or the oily mixture can be used in formulation of dairy products, ice cream, margarines, spreads, salad oils and dressings, processed meat products, confectionery, fillings, sauces, soups, fruit drinks, desserts, baby foods, but also nutritional and pharmaceutical supplements. Especially the oily mixture can be used in solid or semi-solid foods such as chocolates, other candies, baked goods and any other appropriate foods.
The invention also refers to a dairy product comprising 1-30% by weight, preferably 2-15% by weight of the oil-in-water emulsion. A preferred dairy product, such as a yogurt, comprises 4-10% by weight of an emulsion of a triglyceride fraction of palm oil and fractionated oat oil.
In order to obtain a prolonged feeling of satiety a 40 wt % emulsion should be taken in an amount of 1-200 ml per serving or meal, preferably 5-100 ml and very preferably 10-30 ml. The oil component alone, that is the oily mixture, may be used in proportionally smaller quantities.
The invention also refers to a mixture of triglyceride oils having a solid fat content at ambient to body temperature and a food emulsifier or an oil-in-water emulsion thereof for the preparation of an oral pharmaceutical composition for the prophylaxis and treatment of obesity, for the control of calorie or fat intake and for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
The invention also refers to the use of an oil-in-water emulsion of triglyceride oils having a solid fat content at ambient to body temperature with a food emulsifier for the preparation of a pharmaceutical composition for the prophylaxis and treatment of obesity, for the control of calorie or fat intake and for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
When used in a pharmaceutical composition for weight reduction, control of calorie intake or the prevention or treatment of any appropriate disease, such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes, the composition can in addition to the oil-in-water emulsion comprise another therapeutically active substance.
In the following Examples and Tests different lipids and emulsifiers have been formulated into mixtures and emulsions and tested as to effect on satiety and food consumption. The following fats or oils have been used: Akofrite (trade name for a palm oil from Karlshamns, Karlshamn, Sweden); Fractionated palm oil (CPL(copyright)-Palm oil, Scotia LipidTeknik, Stockholm, Sweden) obtained by fractionation of Akofrite; palmkernel oil; corn oil; and Fractionated soybean oil (CPL(copyright)-Soybean oil, Scotia LipidTeknik, Stockholm, Sweden). As emulsifiers have been used Fractionated oat oil (Scotia LipidTeknik, Stockholm, Sweden) comprising about 20% DGDG, and prepared from oats in accordance with WO 97/11141; Galactolipids (CPL(copyright)-Galactolipids, Scotia LipidTeknik, Stockholm, Sweden) comprising about 60% DGDG, and prepared from oats in accordance with WO 95/20943; soybean lecithin; and soybean phosphatidylcholine.
The Fractionated palm oil used has the following fatty acid composition as determined by means of gas-liquid chromatography after alkaline methanolysis: 40-45 wt % palmitic acid, 38-42 wt % oleic acid, 8-10 wt % linoleic acid, and 4-5 wt % stearic acid, the remainder being lauric acid, myristic acid, arachidic acid and palmitoleic acid.
The Fractionated palm oil has a triglyceride (TG) content of 99.8-100.0 wt %, a solid fat content at 20 and 35xc2x0 C. (N20 and N35) of 31 and 6%, respectively. The other tested oils have the following corresponding data: Akofrite: TG=96 wt %, N20=28%, and N35=5%; Palmkernel oil: TG=96 wt %, N20=40% and N35=0%; Fractionated soybean oil: TG=99.5 wt %, N20=0% and N35=0%; corn oil: TG=97 wt %, N20=0% and N35=0%.